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Warm weather is right around the corner and that means sleeveless shirts and exposed shoulders and arms. Who wouldn’t want to have some nice, sexy definition? This weeks no gym required workout is all about shoulders. All you will need is a set of tension (resistance) bands.

The How To:

Tension (resistance) Band Shoulder Press:

Stand on the tension band with one of your feet until you feel appropriate (challenging) tension with your hands over your shoulders and elbows bent. Holding the tension band handles, palms out, push the handles up until your arms are almost fully extended (keep your elbow soft), then bring your hands slowly to the starting position.

Tension (resistance) Band Internal Shoulder Rotation:

Wrap the tension band around a post, tree, bedpost, or anything else that is sturdy and will hold tension well at about your waist level. With the tension band at your side, grab the handle with the hand closest to the band. Keep your upper arm pressed tightly against your body with the elbow bent at a 90 degree angle. Pull the handle in towards your abdomen and slowly return it back to the starting position. Make sure that you are using appropriate tension for this exercise.

Tension (resistance) Band External Shoulder Rotation:

Wrap the tension band around a post, tree, bedpost, or anything else that is sturdy and will hold tension well at about your waist level. With the tension band at your side, grab the handle with the hand furthest away from the band. Keep your upper arm pressed tightly against your body with the elbow bent at a 90 degree angle. Pull the handle out across your body away from your abdomen and slowly return it back to the starting position. Make sure that you are using appropriate tension for this exercise.

Tension (resistance) Band Front Deltoid Raise:

Wrap the tension (resistance) band around a post, tree, bedpost, or anything else that is sturdy and will hold tension well. Hold the tension band handels with your arms in front of you, palms facing down. Pull the tension band up until your arms are parallel to the floor, then slowly return to the starting position. Remember to maintain appropriate, challenging tension on your resistance bands!

Tension (resistance) Band Lateral Deltoid Raise:

Stand on the tension band with your legs apart until you feel appropriate (challenging) tension with your arms straight down. Holding the tension band handles with your arms on either side of your body, palms in, pull the handles out and up until your arms are parallel to the floor. Slowly return to the starting position.

I’d love to her what you thought about this workout in the comments below or on our Facebook!

This week is all about endurance and seeing what you are made of. Do this workout as fast as possible, with proper form for 30 minutes. Make sure that you are keeping track of how many rounds you have completed, write the number down. I do this workout at least once a month to see if I can beat my score every time. Enjoy!

This is another AMRAP workout that is guaranteed to get your heart rate up and burn a bunch of calories. Although this is not one of the “no special equipment required” workouts, you can still use some of the household objects to get this one done. For example, if you do not have access to a kettle bell a gallon jug filled with water can be great substitute. You can use a park bench or a high curb to do your box jumps. Sometimes improvising is what keeps the workout fun and fresh. 🙂 Remember to use good form on your kettle bell swings!

This another Holiday travel friendly workout of the week. This week we will be using tension bands. You should be able to complete this workout in 30 minutes.

The How To:

Tension Band Squats:

Stand on the tension band with your hands by your shoulders in the squat position. Pretend that you are holding a barbell on your shoulders and you are about to do barbell squats. Your tension band should be appropriately tense. Now, stand up with your hands by your shoulders as you would while performing a barbell squat.

Tension Band Curls:

Stand on the tension band with your legs apart until you feel appropriate (challenging) tension with your arms straight down. Holding the tension band handles, palms out, curl up as you would with a dumbbell curl.

Tension Band Sit-ups:

Wrap the tension band around a post, tree, bedpost, or anything else that is sturdy and will hold tension well. Position yourself on the floor / ground facing away from the post. Holding your hands by your head with an appropriate (challenging) amount of tension on the band, perform sit-ups.

Try to rest only after you have completed a circuit. Push hard, dig deep, and remember it is a short workout designed to burn a lot of calories. After you finish, make sure that you stretch, use a roller if one is available, and drink lots of water. Have fun and let me know what you think!

I’d like to invite you to take a moment and think about all of the things that you are grateful for today. Think about how far along you have come, how much progress you have made. Be thankful for your body, your strength, your determination. Celebrate your commitment and your success in spite of the busy schedule, family obligation, stress at work, and millions of other things that get in the way.

Now that you have thought about how awesome you are, it is time to proactively burn off that Thanksgiving meal you are going to consume in a few hours.

Here’s the deal: this is short and sweet and to the point HIIT workout. After you do your warm up, do each of the following exercises for 50 seconds without rest between sets, then rest 20 seconds and do the circuit again for 40 seconds, then rest 20 seconds, etc. until you get to 10 seconds. Your workout should look something like this:

Chances are you are going to be away from your gym / workout equipment this Holiday season due to travel and family obligations. Does your workout have to suffer because that? No! This week, I have devised a fun, fast paced way for you to burn off the Holiday treats at the track.